PS4 specs 'revealed' to be off-the-shelf PC components

Could this really be what's going to power the next gen?

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The PS4 has yet to be confirmed but there's another new rumour doing the rounds that suggests the upcoming next-gen console battle will be fought with PC chips that are already in the market.

According to IGN, which is quoting an unnamed source – there's a lot of these doing the rounds at the moment – the PS4 is set to have and AMD chip inside that's based on the company's A8-3850 APU and the Radeon HD 7670 GPU.

Interestingly, the Radeon HD 7670 GPU is a low-end processor but one which is capable of beating the current console crop. In short: it's an upgrade but definitely not a significant one.

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The more the rumours come in, the more it sounds like Microsoft (with the Xbox 720) and Sony aren't going to try and outdo each other in the hardware space, as these chips – or variants of them – look likely to be in both consoles.

If this is the case then the next-gen consoles are already matched power-wise by off-the-shelve PCs which won't cost you an arm and a leg.

As IGN's source is too scared to give out their name, there's no knowing if these specs are hokum or not.

What is clear is that there is a Frankenstein's monster of a PS4 doing the rounds with developers the world over at the moment, so they can ready their games for a very plausible PS4 2013 release. It's possible, then, that these chips are part of this PS4 prototype.

Even if the specs are a little underwhelming, it is good to see the 3850 working alongside the 7670, which should help in boosting the graphical performance of upcoming next-gen games.

With AMD looking more and more likely to be the ones offering up their chips for the PS4, there is a real possibility, though, that this console won't be backwards compatible – given the PS3's reliance on Sony's own Cell architecture.

We're still not entirely convinced with any of the leaks so far, though.